School cuts get hearing

Potential parapro losses big concern

Posted: Friday, March 19, 2004

By Mike D'Avriamike.davria@onlineathens.com

WATKINSVILLE - More than 100 parents, teachers and paraprofessionals posed dozens of questions about the possibility of cutting parapros from the Oconee County School System at a parent-teacher organization meeting Thursday.

The group listened to a presentation by Assistant Superintendent of Operations Randy Morrison at an Oconee County Primary School Parent-Teacher Organization meeting, then peppered him with questions about the possible cuts.

Morrison spoke about upcoming school budget cuts, and apologized for communication errors between the central office and the 129 paraprofessionals who work in the school district. Rumors of immediate personnel cuts raged after the Oconee County Board of Education on March 8 discussed how much money the system could save with fewer parapros.

Paraprofessionals - similar to what once were called teacher's aides - handle a wide range of activities and duties in Oconee County, and also work with special education, physical education, media centers and the alternative school.

The board has made no decision about reducing the number of parapros on staff through budget cuts, Morrison said. The board has the final say on the school system's budget, and plans to adopt a spending plan for the fiscal year starting July 1 in late June.

The next board meeting to discuss the budget is set for 7 p.m. March 29 at the school board office, 34 School St., Watkinsville.

At the PTO meeting, many parents and teachers spoke to Morrison about the possible cuts, with the major theme being the possible parapro cuts. Speakers Thursday showed overwhelming support for keeping parapros in the schools.

Davis Peden, a parent who has two children in Oconee County Primary School, said his children have a strong attachment to the paraprofessionals in their classrooms, and taking them away would have an adverse effect on the school system.

''If we eliminate the paraprofessional, it's almost like taking the nurses out of the hospitals,'' Peden said.

One kindergarten paraprofessional at the primary school, Jennifer Hyduke, told the audience that Superintendent Shannon Adams and Morrison have been noted as saying that the personnel cuts are only one option, but in her mind parapros being cut to save funding is not an option.

''This cannot be an option, so go to one of the others,'' Hyduke said.

Morrison answered many questions Thursday by explaining that he does not make any decisions on cutting personnel, or have any say in what gets cut. He explained to the large crowd several times that the school board makes the final decision.

At one point during the question-and-answer session, Primary School Principal Merle Gay interrupted and asked the crowd to be more respectful of Morrison with their questions and their comments.

''He is our guest and we have to treat him like a guest,'' Gay said. ''Randy cannot cut funds, he cannot keep the parapros, and he cannot take them away.''

One parent, who volunteers in her child's classroom, expressed concern over the possibility of losing parapros, but had a suggestion that might make the loss less painful.

''If we can't save the parapros, it's time for all parents to start taking a more active role in the classroom,'' she said.

In February, principals and other school district officials presented a ''wish list'' - items such as additional buses, language labs and new computers - totaling more than $3.5 million for the fiscal-year 2005 budget, but constraints likely will allow the school system to fund only about $500,000 of the requests.

Morrison told the board March 8 that cutting 80 paraprofessionals in the upcoming budget year would, by the beginning of fiscal-year 2006 in July 2005, free up approximately $1.4 million that could be redirected into classroom teachers and into operations.

Morrison said at the board meeting that the annual cost for paraprofessionals is more than $1.3 million, which is slightly less than 10 percent of the total income the school system receives from local taxes.

Morrison said the majority of Oconee's paraprofessionals work in grades K-5, and the only state funding the county receives is for parapros in kindergarten classes.